[UPDATED 6/1/2018 5:35pm EDT: Google Cloud CEO Diane Green has reportedly announced that Google will not renew its contract for work on military aerial drone software once its current contract term runs out.]

A group of Google employees has reportedly resigned in protest of the company's contractual work for the U.S. military, which has been strengthening its remote image-recognition abilities with the tech giant's help.

Gizmodo reported today that around a dozen Google workers have resigned in response to the firm's involvement with the Pentagon, which employees say runs counter to Google's stated ethical principles. The former Google workers were also reportedly motivated by the tech giant's behavior in other spheres, including transparency and trust.

Earlier this year, news outlets reported on Google's work to help improve military image- and target-recognition software as part its work on Project Maven. Among those who criticized the project were thousands of Google employees, who signed a letter to CEO Sundar Pichai denouncing the company's involvement in warfare.

Referencing the impacts of such technology and Google's own mission to do no harm (more or less), the employees wrote last month, "[We] ask ask that Project Maven be cancelled and that Google draft, publicize, and enforce a clear policy stating that neither Google nor its contractors will ever build warfare technology."

Among other groups, the International Committee for Robot Arms Control has also expressed its disapproval of the project and its support for protesting employees in an open letter addressed to Pichai, Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene, and Chief Scientist of AI/ML and Vice President Fei-Fei Li.

Two girls hold a banner that reads, 'Just Google Gaza massacre images to know why we are here' during a rally against Israel's military incursions in Gaza organized at Sydney Town Hall in Sydney, Australia. (Credit: Sergio Leyva Seiglie/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

According to Gizmodo, which spoke to multiple sources at the company, the resigning employees' reasons for leaving the company "range from particular ethical concerns over the use of artificial intelligence in drone warfare to broader worries about Google’s political decisions — and the erosion of user trust that could result from these actions."

Workers told Gizmodo that they also no longer felt that their feedback was being heard at the company, which has traditionally prided itself on inviting employees to weigh in on important discussions and decisions.